Mr. Barclay Sheaks, 36 Years
Associate Professor of Art and Distinguished Resident Artist
A part of the College "since the beginning," Barclay Sheaks has taught students in two-dimensional art, including drawing and painting.
"They contacted me and asked me if I could come start the art department - so I did," he said. "I started off part-time and I taught art in the boiler room."
As Virginia Wesleyan changed and the boiler room grew into an art room, Sheaks remained a dedicated professor to the students and his colleagues.
A renowned professional artist, Sheaks' artwork has been displayed in many exhibits over the years and is owned by a number of museums, in addition to a host of university, corporate and private art collections, including the collection in the Barclay Sheaks Gallery in Godwin Hall. In addition to painting, Sheaks also enjoys writing books. To date, he has written and published eight books on how to paint and draw.
Leaving Wesleyan with only good memories Sheaks said, "It's fulfilling to see young students catch fire and become inspired."
Sheaks plans to continue teaching through workshops around his hometown in Newport News, Va.
Mr. Bentley Anderson, 32 Years
Professor of Theater/ Communications
Bentley Anderson has retired, but his legacy of love for theater, speech and bicycling around campus will live on at Virginia Wesleyan.
Anderson's love of theater and creativity will always be a part of Wesleyan. He recommended the Black Box Theatre in the Fine Arts building, which lets in no light and allows students to produce different types of plays. In addition, he has been associated with about 100 plays at Wesleyan, his role ranging from director to set designer.
"Bentley is a very gifted actor and he gave productions his personal stamp," said colleague Kathy Merlock Jackson, professor of Communications.
Anderson said he appreciated the College's focus on the liberal arts, and cited it as one of the things that kept him at Wesleyan for so long. "The students get a chance here at VWC," said Anderson. "We take people who have never been in a play."
Along with theater, Anderson also taught speech classes for the Communications Department.
"He approached speech from more of a performance aspect and a lot of students benefited from his approach," said Jackson.
As his retirement approaches, Anderson is looking forward to expanding his love for the arts, even taking a pottery course.
Zimmerman waters the tree planted
in her honor in Wilson Arboretum -
a tradition for all faculty retirees.
Dr. Margaret Zimmerman, 23 Years
Professor of Psychology
Margaret Zimmerman began her fulltime career at Virginia Wesleyan after teaching as an adjunct for only one semester.
"I love getting away from the large university atmosphere," said Zimmerman. "I have tremendous freedom here and nobody is micromanaging."
Throughout her career at Wesleyan, Zimmerman developed several courses for the Psychology Department including Abnormal Psychology, Theories of Personality, Theories of Motivation: Animal Behavior, Introduction to Industrial Psychology and Computer Applications in Quantitative Analysis.
Dr. Donald Wolfgang, Zimmerman's colleague and fellow professor of Psychology, feels that Zimmerman's contributions have benefited the students as well as the department.
"She's developed both classroom and computer courses to help students get a firm understanding of what the findings of research mean," he said.
While Zimmerman had dedicated herself to shaping the students she has worked with over the years, she is looking forward to retirement and the chance to take a break.
"The first thing I am going to do is clean my house," she said. Also on her list are traveling to her condo in Florida, writing and possibly coming back to Wesleyan to conduct research for the school.
"I'm looking forward to not having to work all the time," she said. "I will be able to do other things and develop other interests."
As Wesleyan says goodbye to a long-time teacher and friend, colleagues realize they are letting go of an irreplaceable professor.
"There will never be another Margaret Zimmerman," said Wolfgang. "You don't replace people; you get somebody to take their place."
Dr. Benjamin Berry, 13 Years
Professor of History and American Studies
Benjamin Berry arrived on the Virginia Wesleyan campus as the recipient of a Jessie Ball Dupont Visiting Scholar Grant, which aims to increase minority teachers in colleges and universities around the nation. The grant required Berry to stay at Wesleyan for only a year, but after meeting the students and getting to know the faculty and administration he decided to stay for 13.
"I also found the students to be very friendly, the faculty to be very collegial and the administration didn't have a lot of baggage like the previous schools I had taught at," said Berry.
Berry was active and served on several committees for the College. He was the President of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter at Virginia Wesleyan for one year, served on the General Studies Revision Committee for three years and was the chair of the Community Arbitration Board for three years, serving as a faculty representative.
For Berry, teaching at a small college like Wesleyan has been a way to connect with students and faculty.
"At VWC I have the opportunity to know people, congratulate people, yell at people and have people over to my house for dinner," said Berry. "The classrooms are small so you can't fit many students in it- that's the kind of teaching I like, connection with the students."
Headed for retirement with no regrets and plans to move closer to family in Tennessee, Berry said, "I'm 65 years old and I'm tired. The students have had me for 35 years - now it's time for my grandchildren."